HC November 2019 Newsletter – Draft Dear Friends of Austria! On Nov 11, Representatives from the Vienna Business Agency organized an interesting evening at the World Trade Center in Seattle presenting the advantages and possibilities the City of Vienna has to offer to attract businesses. Among the participants were about 30 guests of the Austrian community engaging in a productive exchange of ideas and information. On the other days of their visit in Seattle meetings were arranged with representatives of the City of Seattle, Greater Seattle Region, and individual companies and persons with an interest in Vienna as a business location. The positive impressions point to the start of a closer cooperation between two amazing cities! NEWS FROM AND ABOUT AUSTRIA Coalition Negotiations to form the next government between the ÖVP and The Green Party are still ongoing. There is no final decision expected before the Holidays. November 1: Austria has a new Ambassador to the United States: Martin Weiss. He was born in Innsbruck, studied law at the University of Vienna and the University of Virginia, and started his career in the Austrian Foreign Service in 1990. Among many other positions, he served previously as Ambassador to Israel, to Cyprus, and as Consul General of Los Angeles. November 6: on the day of his 90th Birthday, Nobel Prize Winner and “Father of Neuroscience”, Professor Eric Kandel was honored with the "Golden Knight" by his native city of Vienna (pictured with Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig). November 9: 30 years anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Do you remember the first signs of a crack? The dismantling of the electric fence along Hungary's 240 kilometers (149 mi) long border with Austria on June 27, 1989, was the first fissure in the "Iron Curtain" that had divided Europe for more than 40 years since the end of World War II. It caused a chain reaction in East Germany that ultimately resulted in the demise of the Berlin Wall. The photo shows then Hungarians Foreign Minister Gyula Horn and his Austrian counterpart Alois Mock. November 15: Heavy snow and rainfall caused havoc especially in Styria and Carinthia which declared region of emergency. After several days without power and closed roads the situation slowly improved. November 15: Central European University, opened its doors in Vienna at a temporary Campus in Wien - Favoriten after legal and political pressure forced the private University to move out of Hungary. All political parties (except FPÖ) were in favor to welcome the CEU in Vienna during these difficult times and could so strengthen Vienna’s international reputation. CEU is one of the 100 world best Universities, founded in 1992 by George Soros in Budapest, it has almost 17,000 alumni, faculty from more than 40 countries and students from over 100. Its forced move out and restriction on research by the Hungarian government was met with outrage and resistance. CEU got widespread support from fellow Universities in their fight for freedom in research. November 18: Star Architect and caricaturist Gustav Peichl (“Ironimus”) passed away at age 91. He influenced the Austrian architecture like no other in the past century. The Millennium Tower in Vienna is among his main masterpieces. He also was famous for his critical and poignant drawings. November 24: State Parliamentary Elections in Styria: ÖVP could increase its lead to 36% (+8), the Green Party also increased their share to 12% (+6), the SPÖ is now at 23% (-6) and the FPÖ lost dramatically and stands now by 17% (- 9). NEOS and KPÖ reached the entry into the Styrian parliament. November 25: New York Times Article: Vienna got entangled in the US-Ukraine Saga: The pro-Russian Ukraine oligarch Dmytro Firtasch had been arrested in Vienna in 2014, at the American authorities’ request, after his indictment on charges of bribing. Mr. Firtash, who denies the charges, was free on bail but an Austrian court had cleared the way for his extradition to the United States. In hopes of blocking that order, Mr. Firtash and his Vienna lawyers had filed records showing to persuade - so far unsuccessfully - federal prosecutors to withdraw it. On October 10, Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman, two associates of attorney Rudy Giuliani, were arrested at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC, awaiting a (one way) flight to Vienna. November 27: The Ministry for Interior of the current interim administration ended the accommodation of “Police Horses”. This program, initiated by the previous administration in 2018, was under heavy criticism from the very beginning. The financial burden skyrocketed to almost 10 times as originally projected. UPCOMING EVENTS: Nov. 29 – Dec. 1: NWFF: (North West Film Forum): www.nwfilmforum.org In My Room (Ulrich Köhler, Germany, 2018, 119 min); http://bit.ly/inmyroomnw In this German language movie, Armin has nowhere to go and little to show for himself. He awakes one morning to find that fate seems to have intervened; all of humanity has disappeared, leaving him to his limited devices and opening the door for self-discovery – but this freedom bears complications. Screened in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, In My Room is a film of small moments, details, and the ambience of the world after most people are gone. December 1: Weihnachtsfest: 1-5pm: German House, 613 9th Ave, Seattle. Organized by the Austria Club of WA, www.austriaclubwa.com. All families are welcomed! Please see attached flyer for more information. December 6: 13:00 - 20:00: SAGA School Winter Bazar: Annual SAGA German Winter Bazaar Enjoy lunch/dinner, featuring Bratwurst from Uli’s Famous Sausage, Anita’s delicious Sauerkraut, Glühwein, and Bier. Come support our vendors selling handmade goods and enjoy our authentic bake sale. Live music starts around 15:00, with a visit from our "special guest" later in the evening! [email protected] December 7: Reading from the Heart of Europe: Next meeting of the “Heart of Europe Central European Reading Group”, organized by UW Prof. Michael Biggins, Honorary Consul of Slovenia, [email protected]: https://www.facebook.com/Readings-from-the-Heart-of-Europe-2100726800044258 University of Washington, Odegaard Library room 220 (doors open at 5:00, discussion begins 5:30pm). Two short works by 2019 Nobel laureate Peter Handke will be up for discussion: 1. A Sorrow Beyond Dreams (translated by Ralph Manheim, original title: Wunschloses Unglück, first published 1970) 2. Repetition (translated by Ralph Manheim, original title: Die Wiederholung, first published 1985) December 13: Advent – und Weihnachtslieder Singen: hosted by Elana Sabajon; More info see Meetup Österreicher Gruppe: https://www.meetup.com/Austrian-Stammtisch-and-Events/events/264835976/ December 14: 10 – 2pm: European Christmas Market: at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd Center, 1649 Sunnyside Ave N, Seattle; organized by the Goethe Pop-Up Seattle and the Alliance Française de Seattle. Featuring handmade art, crafts, and products from local artisans and businesses, holiday drinks, food, and delicacies. Enjoy performances of French and German Christmas carols, and don’t miss Santa’s visit with presents for our little ones! December 23: Magic Christmas Ship Cruise shadowing the Argosy Christmas ship and parade, organized by fellow Austrian Val Caspaar! For more details see: https://www.meetup.com/Austrian-Stammtisch-and-Events/events/266639624/ LOOKING AHEAD: th 20 Viennese Ball, Saturday, February 29, 2020! Mark your calendar for this annual social highlight! Maybe consider tickets as a Christmas present? Tickets are already available under vienneseball2020.brownpapertickets.com. The City of Vienna is again sponsoring this special evening providing the well- liked “Damenspenden”! See attached Flyer for more information. Wishing you all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING and a HAPPY WORK-OFF the turkey pounds afterwards! Herzlichst, Eva Kammel Honorary Consul of Austria in Seattle [email protected] Attached: Weihnachtsfest, Viennese Ball .